X m medicated vapor-bath



LUGIEN E. HICKS AND THOMAS MINER, OF MIDDLETOVVN, CONNECTICUT.

MEDICATED varon-BATH.

Specification of Letters Patent No.

T all whom t 'may concern.'

Be it known that we, LoomsT E. HICKS and TnoMAs MINER, of Middletown, in the county of Middlesex and State of Connecticut, have jointly invented a new and ImprovedPortable Bath, called Hicks Portable` Medicated Vapor-Bath, and we do hereby declare thatwthe following is a full and exact description thereof.

i The nature of our invention consists in constructing` a portable bath, for the` purpose of creating and' applying to any part of,or to the whole surface of the body, the vapor, made from thearticles land in the manner hereafter mentioned.

The heat by which the vapor is made is caused by burning alcohol or spirits of wine or other inflammable liquid, in a vessel or dish so construct-ed as to govern the blaze by means of stopcocks and tubes,without a" The spirits of wine may be used` wick. either alone or mixed' or combined with any of the `said articles, viz: Chlorin ether, chlorid of lime, chlorid of` soda, or chlorin in any form; also sulfuret of soda, sulfuret of potash, sulfuret of iodin or sulfur in any `of its combinations; also the essential oils of vegetables, which mix `with or impart` their properties to alcohol; also those medicines which dissolve in water, or impart to it their properties at any temperature, which in this bath in either of the above solvents, can be converted into; vapor and applied in that form, tothe skin or body, for the relief or cure of disease, either of which may beused separately or united, so that one or more of these gases can be applied in the above mentioned form and manner,1tothe skin or body, as remedies in eruptive and other disordered or diseased conditions of the skin or body.

To enable others skilled in the art, to make and use our invention `we proceed to describe its construction and operation.

Thebathisconstructed in a portableand wood, B` B the back legs and constituting a partof the back; F F,the frontlegs; I I,

2v,7l75i,dated :September 17, 18421.

, the arms; E, the rails; L L the girts or lower lrailsgV, the platform or f1-oor;`T, the ste'pgK, the seat (upholstered); H, the back (upholstered). Thus B Bl, the back A legs constituting a part of the back are four F feet long symmetrically proportioned; F F y thefront legs, two feet. and two inches long and two inches square. are made in the usual manner and in due 1 proportion with the other parts; E E the l upper rails are framed into the legs in the usual manner, and are of a length and size jsuflicient to admit a movable seat two feet The back and arms in diameter, measured cornerwise; L L the lower railswfour 1n number, are placed are placed the vessels shown in Fig. 3 incas-` ures two feet and one inch cornerwise, and 1s secured by screws, to the lower rails L L; the step attached to the` front legs by `braclts, eighteen inches below the seat, is )ten inches wide,- three fourths of an inch `thick perforated with half inch holes one .inch apart, to let the heat escape through l it to the feet; K the seat is movable and upholstered. iis. a tin or metallic refi'ector P., Fig. 5 the .saine size of ,the seat, and1 attached by fscrews to its frame. forated with half inch holes, two inches apart and prevents any blaze from ascend` Ling, or exposure of a person in the bath to To the under side of this `seat This reflector is perinjury orthe cushion of the seat to flame; at

Vthe same time admitting* part of the heat and vapor to rise through its openings, and causing a portion of the same to be diverged `to other parts of the bath.

0n the left side of the chair not shown in the figure) we have a framed door, for adjusting` the xtures on the platform. Into this frame are inserted iron rods, two inches apart, running perpendicularly. This door occupies the'entire space between the legs from the rails E E to the platform V.

R, R, are small iron rods two inches apart, extending' from the upper to the lower rails on` three sides of the chair.

C is a carpet, extending;` from the seat to lthe step and covering'thesame, for the purpose of intercepting' the heat.

Y Y are large casters.

S S are large handles for `conveniently movingthe bath.

B, Fig. his an iron frame for supportingH and on which is regulated the curtain A A,

' f being a straight perpendicular rod, three adjusting the curtain.

feet long, three four'ths of an inch in diameter.

a, @are reaches, the lower one seven inches and the Lipper one siX inches long,

three fourths of an inch in diameter, with an eye at the outer end through which the perpendicular rod moves freely; at the other end it Vhas a flange, and is attached one to the center of the back rail., and the other to the middle of the back of the chair by screws.

g, g, is a thumb screw that wo-rks in the end of the lower reach, for securing the rod. l) b is a circular hoop for sustaining and It is three feetl in diameter, madev of half inch round iron, wit-h joints in the middle, by which itmay be thrown into a semi-circle.

A A is a curtain made of india rubber or other cloth, impervious to vapor. It is two and one fourth yards long andfour and a Y half yards wide, having a cord in the hem at the topq for the purpose of gathering it up. This curtain is attached to the hoop by means of small iron rings.

Fig. 2, D is a metallic fountain, to contain the liquid to be burned or evaporated, made of brass or copper having a partition running` crosswise through the center, makingv two divisions, each of which will hold one quart. This fountain when in its place, is attached with metallic straps to the inside of the rail, on the right side ofthe chair.

e z are apertures for filling the fountain; ,1/ gf, straps by which it is attached to the chair; E E, brass cocks, one inserted into each division near the bottom of the fountain, for drawing o-ut the fluid and regulating its quantity.

f f are two metallic tubes made of copper or lead, and are attached to the under side of the fountain by means of metallic straps .f/, g. One of these tubes serves to carry simple water or medicated fluid to the vessel L, the other conducts spirits of wine or medicated infiamma-ble liquid to the depression or groove N made in the disk M M in Fig. 3.

Fig. 3, S is a circular reservoir made of brass or copper twelve inches in diameter, three inches high and will hold four quarts of water.

M M is a thin castiron vessel or dish firmly attached to and serving as a cover to the reservoir S. This vessel has two circular divisions. The outer one, for receiving and in which is burned spirits of wine or other inliammable liquids, the inner one, for receiving such medicines as require to be volatilized or sublimed by heat. They are shaped'as follows. The outer one is a circular groove eXtending around the vessel like a ring, two inches from its outer edge;

,necessity of a wick; P, l), the inner division is in the shape of a bowl and extends from the inner edge of the crease N, N, to the aperture in the center of the vessel or dish.

It is siX inches wide at the top and one inch deep. we have a small aperture E which rises one and a half inches for the purpose of filling and emptying the reservoir S, and this aperture has a metallic cap or stopper.

Fig. 2;, L, is another thin cast iron vessel supported upon flat legs, three inches long, one inch wide and one inch apart, as shown, Y, Y. The vessel L is eleven inches in diameter at the top, two and a half inches deep, and is for containing simple or medicated water or other liquid, and serves as an evaporating pan by which its contents are converted into vapor. It will hold two quarts. It has an aperture in the center g, g, three inches in diameter which aids the combustion of the inflammable liquid in the crease or groove N N Fig. 3. This aperture concentrates the heat. This vessel has a small perpendicular stem or tube d, al, three inches long, three fourths of an inch in diameter, part-ly on one side, through which the inflammable liquid is conducted to the crease or groove N N Fig 3.

In the center of this bowl or dish X X is a flat sheet iron conductor, for the y purpose of conveying warmth and vapor to the feet. The anterior part U Fig. 2 is fourteen inches by ten and one inch thick, perforated with small holes on the upper side to allow the heat and vapor to escape.

V is the posterior'part, eleven inches long, and one inch thick, made in two parts one acting within the other, for varying its length, thereby regulating the heat which it Y conveys from the aperture in the dish L to the under side of the perforated stepT to which it extends and is att-ached.

In using the above described bath, it is necessary first to fill the reservoir S, Fig. 3, with cold water, which is intended to keep the cast iron cover M, M, from becoming heated during the burning of the inflammable liquid If a chlorin bath is desired we miX an ounce of chlorid of lime or clorid of soda with water about the thickness of cream. We put this into the groove or crease N N. We then draw from the fountain D by a cock E, alcohol or spirits of wine or other inflammable liquid which is thereto conducted by the tube j". Or with the spirits of wine in the fountain D we miX chlorin ether of the shops in the proportion of an ounce to the pint, and draw as aforesaid, and when ignited, chlorin ether in the form of vapor is produced. Then this vapor requires to be diluted or mixed with other vapor, we draw from the fountain D by the other cock, water or other liquid suiicient to answer this purpose, which falls into the vessel L and is there converted into vapor by the heat below it, and mixes with that which arises in the form of vapor made from chlorin. If sulfuret of soda, or pot-ash, or sulfuret of iodin is used, we dissolve them in water in the fountain D division marked water, or in the vessel L Fig. 3, they may be dissolved in water and converted into vapor as above described. In using the essential oils we mix them with the alcohol in the proportion of an ounce to the pint, and they may be conve-rted into vapor as aforesaid.

When this bath is prepared the person wishing,` to use it, .in an undress sits in the chair. The hoop b b Fig. 4 is brought down,

and the curtain A A is drawn and secured the certainty and the ease by which medicines or water may be converted into vapor, without the aid of flues, whlch are necessary in the other and usual method of creating and applying vapor to the skin or body. Also it may be conveniently managed by the person in the bath, and the convenience by which it may be prepared for use, requiring only from five to fifteen minutes from the time of commencing to complete the process of bathing in ordinary cases.

lVhat we claim as our invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is- The covered chair, constructed with a circular iron hoop, having attached to it oints for adjusting the curtain, and with iron rods inclosing the sides of the chair, there being` a door on `one side opening to the heating apparatus; also a perforated metallic plate P Fig. 5, beneath the seat, thereto attached for the purpose of admitting and for reflecting the product of the heatingr apparatus and likewise a conductor X to the feet in combination with the metallic fountain D and tubes for distributing the fluids, with the heating' and evaporating` apparatus constructed with a reservoir S, for cold water,

and a cover containing two divisions N and P one for burning alcohol and the other for containing materials to `be volatilized or sublimed with an evaporating pan above these; the whole being, constructed and operating as above described.

LUCIEN E. HICKS. THOMAS MINER.

lVitnesses CHS. C. TYLER,

WILLIAM L. STORES, 

